Effective immediately, due to the declaration of Coronavirus as a global pandemic, we are taking the following precautions to avoid the spread of coronavirus:

• There will not be in-person coverage of public places or public events for the time being. We would encourage all such places and events to cancel public gatherings, and adhere to social distancing.
• Our staff will work through public channels, via e-mail, and by phone, to gather information for news reporting, rather than conducting in-person interviews.

Here are the steps that we’ve been taking at the newspaper’s headquarters, which is in the Founder’s home, and is encouraged at the homes of our staff:

• Everything that comes into the building from outside must be disinfected with wipes or spray, while not wasting disinfectant supplies in the process. This includes all groceries, packages received with spray disinfectant both inside and outside, mail received with wipes when possible on the outside, and handled as if they are contaminated on the inside requiring hand-washing after handling them, common sense about disinfecting, etc.
• Clothing is changed after going out into the public. It is washed with disinfectant solution, and the hamper is disinfected with disinfectant spray when it is emptied.
• All surfaces must be cleaned with disinfectant daily, even though there is little chance of the surfaces harboring the virus. High traffic surfaces are cleaned on a regular basis as well.
• Anything that is going out of the building, i.e. mail, packages, etc. must be produced in a completely clean environment, and cleaned when possible before leaving the building.
• Allow disinfectants to work for at least the minimum recommended time period that surfaces must stay wet for.
• When using a disinfectant spray, apply a fine mist that covers the entire object. Don’t waste disinfectant spray by soaking objects.
• Regularly disinfect your phone, computers, computer keyboards, tablets, and other electronic devices. They are high traffic areas, as you touch them after you have touched dirty surfaces, especially phones, tablets, and computers when in public.

Personal Hygiene:

• Never touch your face with unclean hands. Also, trim your fingernails to avoid germs collecting underneath them.
• Washing hands for 30 seconds with soap and water, whenever it is available.
• Wash hands regularly, even if you think they are clean, with common sense.
• Use of hand sanitizer containing 60-70% Alcohol when a sink isn’t available, such as out in public, on a regular basis. Apply enough hand sanitizer that the surfaces on the hands stay moist for approximately 20-30 seconds, and continue to rub them together until they are dry.
• Don’t touch high traffic areas if possible, such as elevator buttons, door handles, etc. If you do, use hand sanitizer to wash hands after touching those surfaces.
• Don’t use public bathrooms if possible. If using a public bathroom, wash hands vigorously with soap and water, and use a paper towel to open the door, and then throw the paper towel away. If this isn’t possible, such as the trash can not being near the door, then use hand sanitizer, even after washing hands if you’ve touched the door handle or any part of the door.

Home Security:

• NEVER let anyone you don’t know into your home.
• Consider every other person as potentially infected if you are not sick.
• If you are sick, with any condition, you should probably stay home.
• Stock up on supplies, and make sure they are secured inside your home. Do not communicate to any other person outside your home regarding what you have inside your home, including any food, medicine, and other supplies that you’ve stockpiled because of the crisis.
• Ensure there is nothing valuable in the house that would attract criminals.
• If the situation of the Coronavirus outbreak were to compromise law and order due to people running out of supplies, people that you either know or don’t know may try to come to your home to get supplies. Do not let anyone into your house during a national crisis.